Chuck vs The Hospital
by cause.A.scene
Summary: After a mission goes terribly wrong, Sarah is faced with her biggest fear ever since she became Chuck's handler. No pairing, Chuck whump.
1. Her Worst Fear

**AN: **First Chuck fic, so be kind. Basically, I wanted to do one that focused on Chuck getting hurt because there are not enough of them. *hint hint*

**Summary: **After a mission goes terribly wrong, Sarah is faced with her biggest fear ever since she became Chuck's handler.  
**Warning: **This is in no way a very exciting story with lot of action. It follows Sarah from when she finds Chuck, to while he's in the hospital. It is more so a character study than anything else. So, don't except action or anything like that. Oh, and I'm pretty** wordy**. I like description... Also, its **unbeta'd  
Pairing: None**, really. I mean, there's a lot of emotion and feeling between Chuck and Sarah, but it could be taken either way, really. I'm not much into the romance, but I love the bond between them two, and Chuck and Ellie, and Morgan and Chuck... But yeah. Not really a lovey-dovey piece.  
**Disclaimer: **I'm 17... I own very little, let alone a whole tv show.

Bottom line, if you've got some time to sit back and read and not be killed by cliffhangers (I've written most of it and there are no cliffhangers yet) then you might enjoy this one.

**Chuck vs The Hospital - Chapter 1**

* * *

Sarah ran faster than she could ever remember running, weaving in and out of barrels and boxes while trying to remain in contact with both Casey and Chuck. Everything had gone wrong, with the possibility still open for things to get worse. It was supposed to have been an easy mission; just had to follow-up on some leaked information of a well-known assassin being in town, which ended up being a complete and total bust. All that was there was a group of pissed off drug dealers upset that Uncle Sam had confiscated their drugs.

Despite the fact that that brand of criminal was usually dealt with by a lower level of law enforcement, and therefore should have been a walk in the park, Chuck had managed to get captured and… well, she wasn't sure exactly what happened to him. All she knew was she heard Chuck yell in pain and a gun shot.

Long story short, Sarah was now running like hell to where the tracking device said Chuck was, while calling for him over the radio and having information fed to her by Casey.

"_Turn left and go about 150 feet, and then take a right,_" Casey told her over her walkie. She did as she was told, going around a large storage compartment.

"_He should be about 200 feet in front of you."_

Sarah took a brief moment to look ahead of her, and sure enough, off in the distance she could see a heap of dark, curly hair with a white shirt. Sarah's heart nearly stopped when she realized that the shirt was not entirely white as it should have been and was now mixed with a deep red.

"We need an ambulance! Chuck's down!" Sarah screamed into her headset before she took off as fast as she possibly could to where Chuck was lying. It seemed like the longest run of her life and with every step came a new image of a dead Chuck. She had seen so many dead bodies in her lifetime, many of whom she killed herself, but seeing Chuck dead had been her biggest fear for over a year now. She couldn't stand the thought of failing her mission and more importantly, the loss of a person as innocent and kind-hearted as Chuck.

She was close enough now that she could see his face, and felt her stomach turn. He had been beaten, and by the looks of it, by several people. His face was an array of colors and was so swollen; she could have easily mistaken him for someone else had it not been for the signature Chuck hair. She fell to her knees beside him, temporarily unsure of what to do. She knew she needed to check to see if he was still alive, but she was so afraid that her test would yield the most undesirable of results.

Despite the fear, logic took over and she reached her hand out to meet his neck, and felt for a pulse. Not only was he still very much warm, Sarah could feel a small, alarmingly weak flutter under her fingers, but there was a pulse nonetheless. She continued to look him over and saw that apart from the swelling, he was covered in blood. From his nose to some cuts on his legs, he was not doing well at all and as Sarah looked him over more, she realized that a major source of the bleeding was coming from his back area and forming a puddle around his right shoulder. She looked a little closer at his shoulder and about died when she saw the bullet hole. She wanted to roll him over to try to stop the bleeding, but knew that she wasn't supposed to move him in case it aggravated other injuries.

"Chuck?" Sarah cooed softly, her hand gently rubbing his hair back. "Come on, Chuck. Wake up."

He wasn't moving and a part of her knew he wouldn't be any time soon.

"Casey! Where's that damn ambulance!?"

"_Three minutes. Is he alive?_"

"Yes, but just barely," Sarah replied, trying to cover up her fear when a thought suddenly occurred to her. "Casey, he needs to be taken to Ellie's hospital." Normally, fallen agents would be taken to a special hospital made just for them in order to preserve their cover, among other things, but Sarah saw the importance in Chuck being taken to his sister's hospital.

"_What are you talking about, Walker?"_

"Look, Ellie is going to find out and she's going to wonder why he wasn't taken to the best hospital in town. His condition is serious and all serious cases are taken there. It would be easier to preserve our cover and it's closer."

"_Okay, okay. I'll radio it in. Just keep the kid alive, alright? I'll meet you at the hospital._"

Sarah nodded and turned her attention back to Chuck and felt relief wash over her as the sound of sirens filled her ears. The ambulance stopped somewhere behind her and three men rushed out, pushing Sarah aside. She watched as they worked their magic, putting things on Chuck and taking other things off. Sarah lost track of everything they were doing to him, and just assumed they knew what they were doing.

"We've got to go, now. We're taking him downtown, right?" one of the medics asked. Sarah nodded and was glad Casey was able to get the message to them so quickly and they weren't questioning it because being agents themselves, they were certainly used to taking their patients to their private hospital.

"Right. Let's get going!"

Chuck was then placed on a back board with a neck brace on, and carried to the ambulance. Sarah did not wait for an invitation, and slid in to the back. She tried to get in the far right corner, out of the medics' way. When the ambulance began moving, Sarah realized she was holding her breath. She forced herself to breathe and listened to what the men were saying, trying to figure out just how bad things were.

But as hard as Sarah tried to pay attention to what they were saying, she kept finding herself focusing in on Chuck alone. The small movements of his now bare chest, rising and falling, and the comfort it brought her. The way his hair still looked messy and full of life, like it always did, even if the body it was attached to was unnaturally still. She then looked at his eyes and assumed the twitchy movements meant nothing, but then the movements became more pronounced until his eyelids opened briefly to slits. And then, a little more, until he was blinking continuously. Sarah watched as his dark, fearful eyes frantically searched the enclosed interior of the ambulance. She could see his chest was nearly heaving as panic overtook him.

"Sir! I need you to calm down. You've been in an accident but we're going to help you," one of the medics said, his face inches from Chuck's. Sarah looked back and forth between Chuck and the medic and realized that this was bringing no comfort to him. In fact, he began thrashing around.

"He's pulling out the IV's," the other medic called.

"Sir…"

Knowing the man was not going to calm Chuck down, and without thinking, Sarah scooted in as close as she could to Chuck, while still attempting to stay out of the way, and placed her hand along the side of his face.

"Chuck," she said softly, yet firmly. She watched his eyes, though still hazed and confused, focus in on her and immediately his body seemed to relax. "That's right, Chuck, just breathe. We're on our way to the hospital. You've been hurt and you need to let them help you, okay?"

He stared at her and she began to wonder if he was able to process any of what she was saying. However, she was aware that the medics had begun working again and getting their job done without having to worry about Chuck freaking out. But then Chuck nodded and one hand slowly reached up and slid off his oxygen mask.

The movement frightened Sarah for some unknown reason, and while she knew that he needed to keep the mask on, she couldn't seem to get a hold of herself long enough to put it back on him. When it was completely off his nose and mouth and hanging off the side of his cheek, he coughed a little.

"Put the mask back on him," one of the medics told Sarah. It was enough to pull her from her trance and she immediately began to slide the mask back to where it belonged, but Chuck stopped her.

"T-tell… Ellie," he tried to say, but started to cough again. Tears of fear and some odd form of frustration almost instantly sprung into Sarah's eyes.

"No," she said strongly, placing the mask back where it belonged. "You can tell her yourself, Chuck."

Chuck clenched his eyes shut at that moment and let out a soft moan.

"Sorry, Chuck," a medic said. "We had to set your wrist." So his wrist was most likely broken, Sarah thought miserably. Chuck's eyes remained closed and Sarah began to wonder if he planned to open them again but after a moment or two, they slid open. Only this time, pain was more evident and he seemed to be slipping into unconsciousness fast.

"S'rah," he mumbled under the mask. She could see his hand move feebly, apparently trying to remove the mask again, but he didn't have the strength. With his partially open, mostly swollen eyes, he begged her to listen and she could see that. It was as if he had accepted that fact that if he fell unconscious, he may never wake up again. And she hated that.

"Chuck, listen to me. You are going to be fine. I promise," she said. She wasn't sure where any of this was coming from, especially the promise because frankly, she had seen people whose condition wasn't as serious as Chuck's die, even though Chuck still had a very good chance. But she had to say it and she truly believed it. "But you cannot give up, do you understand me? You're going to be fine."

Sarah stared at him intently, and he stared back. They shared a moment in which Sarah ordered him to be okay and after he nodded slowly, promised her that he would do what she said. And Sarah believed him.

She didn't know how long she stayed in that position, but it seemed like an eternity. And as she watched Chuck, she noticed that he was getting worse. He had already lost his weak grip on consciousness and was unnaturally still once more, but his breathing had become frighteningly rapid and his body cold and clammy.

"How much longer?" Sarah asked the man driving.

"ETA two minutes."

"Dammit! He's going into shock!" she heard one of the medics shout and felt herself be pushed away. Once again, she found herself in the corner, watching as more needles were shoved into Chuck's body and another IV was started. It was all so surreal, and that bothered Sarah; she didn't feel in control in the least.

As quickly as it began, it ended; the ambulance came to a rather sudden stop and almost instantly, the doors were opened and Chuck was whisked away. Without thinking, Sarah ran behind them, not wanting to leave Chuck's side, but once he was pushed through one of the Emergency Room doors, a small nurse held her hand in front of Sarah, forcing her to stop.

"I'm sorry ma'am, you can't go any further."

A part of Sarah wanted to scream at the woman and ask her if she had any idea who she was talking to. Maybe even show the woman why she didn't want to mess with Sarah, especially when it came to protecting Chuck… her _asset. _

But she knew better. She knew that they did this for the patient's safety and breaking the woman's neck would surely break a rule or two, both literally and morally. Instead, she thought of something else.

"Is Ellie Bartowski working tonight?" she asked, dreading the talk she was about to have.

The nurse looked slightly confused, but eventually answered. "Yes, she is but I think she may be on her break right now."

"Page her," Sarah said simply. "That's her brother in there."

* * *

**End Note: **Alright, so that's chapter one and I hope you guys are digging it so far. Like I said, it's not going to be an action-packed exciting story, so go ahead an realize that before you gets your hopes up. But, I hope so of you like it and I'll get the next one out eventually.


	2. Childhood Secrets

**AN: **Sorry for the long wait but on top of being a junior in highschool, I'm also the stage manager at a community theater. Needless to say, very busy. But thanks sooo much for the reviews!! They were all wonderful

On to the story...

* * *

"_Page her," Sarah said simply. "That's her brother in there."_

The woman gasped and her face temporarily lost its professional demeanor. "Chuck?!," the woman exclaimed, apparently familiar with Chuck Bartowski. Sarah nodded in response, seeing that the computer geek affecting more people than just her. Within a second, the woman had turned and jogged off in the direction of the ER desk, no doubt to inform Ellie of the terrible news.

Sarah, however, stood in the middle of the hallway, unsure of what to do with herself. She was about to attempt to find the waiting area when she felt her phone vibrate against her leg. She pulled it out and saw Casey's picture on the front.

"Yeah."

"_You at the hospital yet?_"

"Yeah, we just got here. He was taken to the ER but I don't know anything yet."

"_What about his sister or her fiancé? Their doctors, aren't they? They could get some information._"

"They're paging Ellie now and when she gets here, yeah, I'm sure she can get some information," Sarah replied numbly. "But until then, I've got nothing. Did you debrief?"

"_Yeah. They know everything._"

Sarah felt her heart rate pick up, knowing that the incident could be enough to get Chuck extracted from his own life, as well as hers. "And…"

"_And they thought it was a freak accident that they didn't even see coming. The kid stays,_" Casey answered, causing relief to fill Sarah's body. For now, at least. "_I assume you came up with a cover story…?_"

"Mugging."

"_Ah, scenario C. Simple, but solid. Alright, I'll be there soon," _he said before Sarah heard the click of the line ending. She hung up her own phone and looked around the hospital. Oh, how she hated them. She had spent many a time in them, be it for herself or for someone else. Either way, she did not have anything close to happy memories in them.

She found some empty chairs off to the side of the large, busy room and took a seat. She felt numb all over and was dreading the moment she would have to explain what happened to Ellie, especially because it had never really happened at all. But, they had always known that Chuck would get hurt at some point or more and so she and Casey had come up with several scenarios to explain Chuck's injuries, or in a worst case scenario, his death. In fact, Sarah was surprised she hadn't had to use one earlier. For Chuck being an innocent, never-been-in-a-fight-before-in-his-life computer geek, they had figured protecting him from everything would be nearly impossible. Still, the thought didn't make this situation any easier.

After hearing some commotion a little ways down the hall, Sarah looked up to see Ellie practically running in Sarah's general direction, her eyes searching the people in the waiting area. Sarah quickly stood up and took a deep breath, preparing herself for what was about to come. As expected, the moment Ellie's eyes locked on Sarah, the young doctor was racing towards her.

"Sarah! What happened?" she asked, her face full of fear and her eyes already leaking tears.

"We were mugged," Sarah choked out. She knew she needed to sell her story to make it believable, and honestly, it wasn't that hard. She hadn't noticed until now just how shaken up she was and it startled her when she realized her own eyes were dangerously watery.

"Mugged? Where?"

"It was in Miller Square. We were going to get some ice cream when these guys… they just came out of nowhere and…," she trailed off, but not only for dramatic effect. Every time she pictured Chuck lying on the ground, beaten to a pulp, her stomach twisted painfully.

Ellie was shaking now and Sarah had no idea what to do. "Well… what did they do? Is he… how bad is it? They won't let me in."

"I-I don't know," Sarah said truthfully. "They just wouldn't stop kicking and punching and I think there was a… a gun shot," she added silently, knowing that it was going to have a major effect on her. Again, as expected, Ellie practically collapsed on herself. Sarah immediately reached out and lowered Ellie to the ground, her small body shaking as she cried. And whether it was the heat of the moment or simply how she felt, Sarah joined her.

"I'm so sorry," she said over and over. "I tried to stop them b-but I couldn't."

She wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, but eventually, Sarah felt strong, warm arms wrap around them and guide them to a standing position. Sarah looked up and saw the somber face of Devon, or Captain Awesome as Chuck referred to him.

Once Ellie and Sarah were settled into the waiting room chairs, Devon began to fill them in, apparently having just come from wherever Chuck was.

"They're taking him up to surgery now," Devon said, his arm slowly making circles on Ellie's back. "He's got internal bleeding from a gunshot wound, they think one of his ribs might have punctured a lung and he's got a pretty bad concussion."

Sarah was no doctor, but all of that seemed like plenty. Besides, she knew for a fact that whether his injuries was life-threatening or not, he had several cuts, lacerations, bumps, and bruises for being beaten like he was, so that in and of itself would make for a few very long, very painful weeks. All in all, even if Chuck survived - and he simply had to - he would be out of commission for weeks. But that wasn't important now; they had to make it to the recovery stage first.

"But why?" Ellie asking, tears streaming down her face. "Why Chuck? He wouldn't hurt anyone…"

"I know," Devon said, pulling her into his arms. "But he's going to be okay. Now, we should get up to surgery, okay?"

Sarah and Ellie nodded and next thing Sarah knew, she was in an elevator going up to the level where Chuck was being operated on; the thought made her sick. Worst of all, she didn't know what to do with herself in the presence of Chuck's sister and soon-to-be bother-in-law. Especially because only she knew the truth of what had happened to Chuck.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened, revealing a much calmer environment as opposed to the Emergency Room. It both calmed and upset Sarah; at least the ER matched the frenzy of pain and worry that was going on within her, this place just seemed to mock her.

Devon walked them both over the waiting room which was another great improvement in comparison to the waiting room downstairs.

"I'm going to get us some coffee and see if I can find out anything," Devon said quietly once they were all settled in. "Is there anything else either of you need?"

Ellie and Sarah shook their heads and Sarah began to marvel at Devon's ability to adapt to the situation. She had always seen the famous "Captain Awesome" as a guy whose qualities were obvious: he was very handsome, obviously smart due to his profession, and seemed like a genuinely sweet guy, but he had never given off the sentimental vibe to Sarah. At least not like he was now. Sarah was actually glad to have him around at a time like this and suddenly lost all doubt of why Ellie would have chosen someone like him.

"I still don't understand," Ellie said quietly once Devon was gone, her tears still present but she was not nearly as hysterical. The statement made Sarah's heart jump seeing as how everything she had told Ellie was a lie. "How could anyone hurt him? I mean, he probably would have given up his wallet or whatever they wanted, so why did they… why did they have to hurt him too?"

Sarah remained quiet, unsure of how to reply.

"Well, d-did they take his wallet."

It didn't take Sarah long to reply to this because she and Casey had already decided on this plan over a year ago. "Yes, but the police caught the guys soon after and from what I understand, they found his wallet intact."

Ellie nodded and then let her head fall into her hands. They stayed this way for a few moments when Ellie lifted her head again.

"You know, this is only Chuck's second time being in the hospital."

Sarah frowned. This surprised her because Chuck seemed like the type that was pretty sheltered his whole life. "Second? What happened before?"

Ellie smiled sadly. "He's always been on the geeky side, even when he was younger. Smart," she added, "Very smart, but as you can imagine, many kids didn't like that when we were younger. But, Chuck was different. He got picked on here and there, but for the most part, people didn't pay him much mind. He's very likable."

Sarah let out a small chuckle. That description hit the nail on the head.

"Anyway, there was this one guy when I was in the fifth grade, Chuck in the fourth, that picked on everyone. His name was Mikey Roberts and he was the typical school bully with a tortured past. His parents were sad excuses for people in general and he didn't have anyone else who cared enough to raise him right. Either way, he would make fun of everyone and tease everyone, regardless of who they were or what class of people they were in."

Sarah listened, letting Ellie talk and thankful that this trip down memory lane seemed to be calming her.

"He never picked on me until that year," she continued. "Chuck had gotten it plenty of times, but he would always turn to Morgan and they would go back to their comic books and everything would be fine. But, when Mikey started to pick on me, that's when everything changed. He would make fun of my hair, knock the books out of my hands… silly things like that. And I had no idea what to do because I'd never been picked on before. I didn't understand what I had done."

Sarah nodded. Ellie was beautiful, smart, and sweet and Sarah figured the woman had always been that way. So the fact that most people liked her when she was growing up in addition to now did not surprise Sarah in the least.

"Well, one day I came home from school crying because Mikey had made fun of my brand new glasses that I was already upset about having to wear, and Chuck tried to comfort me all night. Of course, I was in no mood to talk to anyone. Well, the next day after school, Chuck went up to Mickey and told him to, and I quote, 'Please stop picking on my sister. You're hurting her feelings,'" Sarah explained, her eyes tearing up again as she continued to smile sadly.

"Mikey wasn't used to people standing up to him, especially not geeks like Chuck, so, he beat Chuck up pretty bad. He ended up with a mild concussion and a cracked rib. Because they were off school grounds, they couldn't expel Mikey, but they suspended him for a few weeks. Chuck got better and came back to school, and eventually, so did Mikey, but he wasn't the same. Over his few weeks of suspension, his dad had nearly killed his mom, and was hauled off to prison. Sad, isn't it?"

Sarah nodded, knowing how much a parent's lifestyle could affect their children.

"Not only did he not pick on anyone anymore, he wouldn't talk to anyone at all. Because the school bully was now weak, everyone else began to pick on him and he would just sit there and take. It was such a sad thing but we were kids and it was our chance for revenge. But Chuck didn't see it that way," Ellie explained and Sarah could see where this was going. "One day when the kids were being particularly nasty to Mikey, Chuck went over to where he was sitting for lunch, still sporting a big ugly scar from the stitches, and invited him to sit at Chuck's table with him and Morgan. You can imagine Morgan's opinion of this."

Sarah chuckled along with Ellie at this statement and was amazed to think that two people could remain friends for so long.

"Mikey didn't sit with him and eventually left the school when his dad got out of prison but no one ever tried to reach out to Mickey except for Chuck. Even after what happened, Chuck was still nice. I never understood it and was even mad at him for being nice to the guy that picked on me and nearly killed him. But that's just who Chuck is. Harmless, good-hearted…" she trailed off as the tears began to spill over onto her reddened cheeks.

Without thinking, Sarah leaned over and hugged Ellie, letting tears of her own flow. Damn Chuck for being such a good person. Damn him for being so likeable. It was her job to protect him, not to actually care for him. Why couldn't she be more like Casey whose only regret was that he nearly failed his mission of keeping the Intersect alive, not the fact that Chuck was a mangled mess? If she were more like Casey, none of this would hurt as bad.

But it did hurt. So much.

Sarah and Ellie continued to make small talk, but as the night wore on, Sarah felt herself getting more and more tired, and before she could stop herself, she fell asleep.


	3. A New Morgan

**AN: **Well, I just suck. I know... The last two weeks of school were absolute hell, and I was getting home at 9:30 every night. So, no time (at all) during the day. Then Friday was our last day before Winter Break and I didn't even go because I'm pretty sure I have mono and have absolutely no energy to do anything. Which is why I'm glad I had already written this chapter and one other so... here it is. Late, but here none the less.

**Thanks: **To everyone one out there who has read then story, and a bigger thanks to those who have reviewed. I'm very pleased to hear that you guys are enjoying it! Hope you continue to do so!

**Warning: **Unbeta'd. The mistakes are my own. And again, I repeat that updates will not be consistant. The next one could come as early as tomorrow, or it could be another week.

So, in the event that I post after Christmas, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!

**Chapter III**

* * *

The first thing Sarah became aware of was the smell of linoleum and an attempt to cover up the unbearable stench of all things sterile with a disgustingly sweet scent. It was a hospital, of this she was sure but why was she there...?

_Chuck!_

Sarah's eyes flew open and she nearly jumped off the waiting room couch she had fallen asleep on. Her heart was racing as the image of Chuck sprawled out on the cold pavement in a pool of his own blood filled her mind.

"Whoa, Sarah! Take a chill pill," someone sighed off to the side of her. She turned frantically and saw Chuck's best friend Morgan sitting in a chair beside her couch. He looked tired and terrified at the same time and she wondered how long he had been there. It was odd seeing him so lifeless; in fact, he was usually bouncing off the walls with energy and to see him being the opposite of himself only served to remind Sarah just how off things were with Chuck injured.

"Morgan," Sarah said quickly. "Have you heard anything? How long have you been here?"

"For about three hours and yes, he's out of surgery. Has been for about an hour or so," Morgan replied somberly. "Apparently it went well but he's not out of the woods yet. Something about a fever, I don't know."

Sarah nodded as she looked around the room and was surprised when she didn't see anyone else.

"Ellie's been in there the whole time," Morgan said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "And Awesome went back to the house to grab some clothes and stuff. It's just you and me now."

A line such as that from Morgan would usually be crawling with creepiness, but not this time. However, Sarah found herself wanting that side of him back. She didn't know what to say; Morgan had known Chuck much longer than she had and she knew they were close.

"You know, there's something I still don't understand," Morgan said, his tone still much darker than anything that should have been coming from his mouth. "Why would they attack him? I mean, there's no way Chuck would keep his wallet and keys if they were demanding it, especially since you were there. He would do almost anything if he thought it would make them leave, right? So, obviously he would have handed them over, right?"

Sarah bit her lip, slightly nervous at where this was going, but nodded her head.

"So if they had what they wanted, then why would they need to attack him too?"

Sarah shook her head at this one. "I don't know, Morgan. I guess… I guess some people get a thrill out of hurting others."

"Well, you were – you know, there when it happened, weren't you?" Sarah nodded again. "Did it look like they were having fun attacking him?"

Sarah felt her stomach clench, knowing that every bit of what she was about to say would be made-up and she hated lying to people, especially about matters such as this.

"Morgan… I don't know. I'm sorry, it's just… everything's a blur now and I remember them coming up to us and demanding the wallet and Chuck gave it to them, but they…," then something perfect sprang into Sarah's head. "They started to come after me… And Chuck tried to stop them and they attacked…," Sarah said, trailing off. "I'm sorry, Morgan. If it wasn't for me…"

"No," Morgan said, cutting her off as she had hoped. "You shouldn't be sorry. I would have done the same if it were me and Anna, you know."

Sarah nodded and smiled, realizing that he had accepted her story. It still didn't feel right lying to him, but he couldn't know the truth. None of them could, and that was that. After that, Morgan remained unnaturally silent for a while, but Sarah could tell that there was something he wanted to say.

"So," he started quietly, his eyes locked on something to the left of Sarah. "Uh, how bad was it? I mean, I know about the surgery and stuff, but… was he in a lot of, like, pain? That's a stupid question," he said quickly before Sarah could answer. "He was beaten to a pulp, of course he was in pain."

Sarah watched this completely different said of Morgan and had no idea how to react. It was his own version of being distressed, but Sarah didn't know how to help him.

"Well, did he get knocked out early on? 'Cause if he did then that would have helped some, wouldn't it? Or do you still feel when you're unconscious? You know, Chuck actually knocked me out once when we were in a game room. We were both racing to get to the Pac Man machine and he tripped me and my head went right into the basketball game. I don't remember anything after that…"

"Morgan," Sarah said, cutting him off as his words began to speed up. "I think… I think he lost consciousness moments into the fight and I don't think he felt most of it."

This was all a lie. Or maybe not, Sarah wasn't sure because she hadn't been there when he was beaten. In fact, she had only arrived after his attackers had left him for dead. But, it seemed to calm Morgan down, and that was a plus.

"That's good," Morgan said quietly. "And then they'll have him doped up to the gills, won't they? So he won't be feeling much at all…"

Sarah smiled. "That's the plan."

"I wish Ellie would hurry up," he said after another short time spent in silence.

"Morgan, that's her brother in there," Sarah reminded him softly. "Besides, it's two in the morning, way past normal visiting hours. I'm sure the only reason she's in there is because she works here and she's the only blood relative he has right now. You'll get your chance to see him."

But at the mention of actually seeing Chuck, Morgan practically froze. Sarah didn't understand the sudden look of… maybe not fear, as much as it was discomfort. She had assumed that Morgan would want to go into Chuck's room the very first chance he got, but this look said otherwise.

"What? No, no," he choked out. "I just want her to come out here and tell us if he's, you know, okay. I don't… I'm not actually going to, you know…"

Sarah frowned, completely bewildered as to why the idea of seeing Chuck had Morgan in such a mess.

"Morgan, what's the matter? Why don't you want to see Chuck?"

He fumbled a bit more at this question and was now sitting up and alert. "Well, I do, of course. But not when he's, you know, in pain and… I'm just not good with bedside manner, and then b-blood. Did I ever tell you that the sight of blood makes me faint? I mean, pass out?" he corrected himself with a nervous laugh.

"I'm sure they'll have all the blood cleaned up…"

"He'll have those white wrap things on and there's almost always blood seeping through and… Chuck knows. He knows that I can't do that stuff. I'm not good with hurt people, he knows that."

"Okay," Sarah said softly, realizing that this was a very uncomfortable subject for him. "Well, if you'd prefer to go home, I will call you the minute I know something."

"No," he replied as though he was appalled that she would suggest such a thing. "That's my friend in there. I will wait as long as I need to. And it's not like I'm not going to see him at all," he explained. "I will eventually… you know, once he has some time to heal and stuff."

Sarah nodded and let the subject drop. She had known people that simply couldn't bear to see loved ones hurting and sick. It didn't make a whole lot of sense to Sarah as she would rather be with the person as much as possible, but she was also aware of the sickening feeling she would get in the pit of her stomach whenever she saw someone she cared about in pain and injured. Maybe that feeling was too much or stronger for other people. It didn't mean they didn't care, because Morgan was obviously going to sit in the waiting room of the hospital until he was sure Chuck would be okay.

Sarah shrugged. To each his own. She stood up and briefly stretched out the kinks she had from sleeping on the hospital couch.

"I'm going to grab some coffee," she told Morgan. "You want me to get you anything?"

"No, I'm good. Thanks," he replied, then quickly added as she turned to walk away, "Actually, if you see any grape soda…"

"I'll get it for you."

"Thanks."

Sarah nodded and started off down the hallway to where she was pretty sure a refreshments room of sorts was located. As she turned a corner, she ran right into someone.

"Where have you been?" Casey growled.

"What?" Sarah said, regaining her composure. "What do you mean 'where have I been?' Where have _you _been?"

"Waiting around this damn hospital while you got your beauty sleep."

Sarah sighed. She still didn't know how she had managed to fall asleep with everything that was going on, but it had happened.

"I'm sorry, okay?" she sighed, pushing by him. "Do you have anything for me?"

"Of course I do," he replied, turning to follow her. "And the coffee is in that fourth door on your right."

Sarah rolled her eyes. For some reason, she was not in the mood for Casey's pissy attitude, which wasn't so much an attitude as it was his normal self. Either way, her nerves were not currently willing to put up with him. Of course, he was right about the coffee and she figured once she got some caffeine in her system, she'd be feeling a lot better.

"I checked his doctors and they are all clean as far as I know. I made sure to take his wallet and keys from his clothes so that our cover story won't be compromised. We can give them back later and say that the police found it intact."

Sarah nodded. So far, so good; all of it was holding up against what she had told Ellie and Morgan.

"And I've put surveillance in his room."

Sarah nearly spit out her coffee.

"You were in his room?"

Casey frowned and raised his eyebrows. "Yeah," he said as though it were a stupid question.

"How? He was in surgery and then Ellie's been in there ever since he got out. How did you get in there undetected?"

"I waited until she took a potty break and used some of my spy skills," he said condescendingly, still acting like it was the dumbest thing he had ever heard. "We've pulled much riskier stunts; I don't see what's got you all bent out of shape over this one."

"Is surveillance really necessary?"

This one just seemed to appall the agent. "What do you think? He's could be here for a week, give or take, and the Intersect is at his weakest point right now. A perfect time to strike."

"Chuck," Sarah corrected him, feeling that it was only civil to at least refer to him as a human being. "Well, how does he look?" Sarah asked quietly, not entirely sure she wanted to know the answer.

"Like hell," Casey answered simply, letting her correction fall on deaf ears. "If that stupid heart monitor wasn't on with its incessant beeping, I'd probably guess the kid was dead."

Sarah winced, remembering how he looked when she had found him on the ground.

"From what I understand his chances are good," Sarah said, mostly for her own reassurance.

"Eh, he'll live," Casey agreed as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "The real question of life or death will come after he explains how the hell he got himself into that position. Speaking of which, the General accepted that the mission was a freak disaster in general, but they still want to know your side of the story and how the Intersect managed to separate from us. "

"I doubt he did it in purpose," she replied, irritated at how he made it sound like it was all Chuck's fault.

"I'm just saying, he was there one minute, gone the next, and the next thing we know, he's shot and beaten to a pulp. I wouldn't mind some answers myself."

Truth be told, Sarah wasn't sure exactly what went wrong either. They had brought Chuck in, never realizing it was anything but a simple glance over at the people in the room, but they had never intended to split up.

"Well, we'll figure it out later. Let's make sure he survives this first and worry about pointing a finger of blame next."

Casey snarled but let the subject drop. "I'll show you where I set up base."

Sarah frowned, suddenly interested in where Casey could have set up base in a hospital, but if anyone could do it, Casey could. She followed him further down the hall to an area that was far away from the waiting room and seemed to be oddly free of traffic. Towards the end of the hallway, there was a small door just was stuck in the wall, and Casey led her right to it. He took out a key and unlocked the padlock and opened the door.

It looked pretty much like every other base they would set up, complete with live camera feeds and headsets. Immediately, Sarah found her eyes attached to the live feed from Chuck's room. It wasn't very clear and the screen was small, but she could make out the very unconscious Chuck lying unnaturally still in his bed, while Ellie, equally unconscious, had her head lying near Chuck's and her hand was limply placed over his. She had managed to fall asleep, which pleased Sarah as the young doctor had already pulled a long shift.

Sarah looked closer at the small screen, and felt her stomach turn uneasily. Chuck was covered in gauze and had several machines hooked up to him. For some reason, the sight made Sarah sicker than she would have imagined. She had held vigil for many people in her life, but seeing Chuck like this was so much harder than any of them. It might have been due to the fact that for the past year, it had been her job to protect him. Whatever it was made her look away and feel weak at the knees.

"What's the matter, Walker?" Casey asked from behind her, making her jump.

"Nothing," Sarah said quickly. "I guess I'm still tired or something."

"Well wake the hell up. We've got a long couple of days ahead of us."

That she agreed with. She was about to leave when something occurred to her.

"You know he will eventually be moved to another room, right?" Sarah asked.

"Just another thing to worry about later," Casey replied, not looking up from the screen.

Sarah nodded and left.'

TBC...

* * *

**EN: **It's kind of an odd place to leave it but I originally wrote this as one big story so I was trying to split is as evenly as possible. Also, you know I couldn't leave out Morgan :) Until later...!


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